Central Coast News

Council CEO David Farmer said, while there are some minor commercial terms still be finalised, Council is delighted that the contract will be awarded to a local company who will also be employing local sub-contractors, which means money is staying locally and local employment being supported

“We are now at an exciting stage where the formal negotiation process has been undertaken and value management options have been evaluated.  Although the project team are still finalising some commercial terms and value management items, all parties are confident that the outstanding items will be finalised and a contract should be executed in the near future which will ensure that the project will remain on track for completion by the end of 2024.  

“The new Regional Library will be the first of its kind for the Central Coast and will offer an iconic building in the heart of the Gosford Central Business District, where the community can connect, create and collaborate.

“To be designed over four spacious levels, it is a truly a modern facility offering more than essential books and literacy. It also will be very much the heart of an active and connected community, with spaces for children, for study and focus, dedicated meeting rooms, function space, innovation areas for creative work and much more,” Mr Farmer said.

The project is jointly funded with $7 million from the Australian Government’s Community Development Grants program and Council’s collection of developer contributions, special levies (collected by former Gosford City Council) and the proceeds of asset sales (136-146 Donnison Street, Gosford Kibbleplex Building).

Council Administrator Rik Hart said that while the project’s budget has been increased, this is to be expected given the unprecedented increase in construction and material costs since the first budget ($27.7M) was developed in 2018.

“A target construction budget was identified for the library back in 2018, and whilst the project team and supporting design consultancy have been working towards that target, the construction industry has been subject to excessive pricing increases over the past two years.  This has had an impact on all projects across Council’s portfolio, and unfortunately Gosford Library has not been immune.

“In comparison to industry data, Council is still tracking below the reported average increases in costs within the construction industry. In May this year, the Master Builders Association reported that building materials cost inflation had reached its highest rate since 1975. A reported increase in the cost of building materials by 8% in 2021 and by a further 12.3% increase in 2022 (20.3% over two years).

“Also in May, the UDIA reported that on a national scale the Australian Bureau of Statistics tracking of building material pricing for housing construction rose by a ~30% increase in the last two years based on the Input Pricing to House Construction index. While no one wants costs to increase, I am pleased that Council has been able to control this project’s cost increases to below the reported industry averages.

“The revised budget of $32.7M, which includes spend to date of $2.541M, is very reasonable and is funded through approved restricted funds (Council Special Rate Variation funds) and some more Developer contributions,” Mr Hart said.